Miami was without a doubt the toast of the ACC this past week. The Hurricanes exploded on the national scene by destroying Duke and then taking apart Florida State and should rocket in the polls.
So naturally, the Hurricanes had a lot of players post big-time performances.
Miami leads the ACC with a 6-0 record and everyone else has at least two losses. Duke and N.C. State had strange weeks with both closing strong. Georgia Tech finally won a league game, Clemson continues to compete, and Erick Green is on an island.
So, with respect to Virginia’s Joe Harris, Evan Nolte and Justin Anderson, N.C. State’s Rodney Purvis, T.J. Warren and C.J. Leslie, Wake Forest’s Devin Thomas, Codi Miller-McIntyre and Travis McKie, Clemson’s K.J. McDaniels and Milton Jennings, Maryland’s Alex Len, Georgia Tech’s Robert Carter, Duke’s Rasheed Sulaimon, North Carolinas P.J. Hairston, Boston College’s Ryan Anderson and Miami’s Trey McKinney-Jones, here are this week’s Big Men on Campus:
Erick Green, Virginia Tech: The nation’s leading scorer raised his average by scoring 60 points in a pair of losses. He had 35 of the Hokies’ 58 points in a home loss to Virginia and then 25 points in a loss at Georgia Tech. He’s certainly doing his part.
Lorenzo Brown, N.C. State: He just keeps on moving forward, improving his game and leading the Wolfpack. Brown totaled 33 points and handed out 21 assists last week -- 20 and 11 in a win over North Carolina.
Durand Scott, Miami: The senior guard scored 25 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out four assists in blasting Duke by 27 points and then had 11 points and four assists in an easy win over FSU. Scott hit 3-of-4 shot attempts from beyond the arc against the Blue Devils and had two steals.
Richard Howell, N.C. State: The bruising senior forward totaled 29 points and 30 rebounds in two games for the Wolfpack. They lost at Wake Forest and then beat UNC. Howell had 16 points and 14 boards versus the Tar Heels.
Kenny Kadji, Miami: The long-armed senior forward put up 22 points and snared six rebounds versus top-ranked Duke and for the week totaled 33 points, as the Canes also blew out rival Florida State on Sunday night. Miami is now 6-0 for the first time in any conference it has ever played in.
Maryland: The Terrapins just got by a struggling Boston College team and then, after a competitive first half, totally mishandled the second half in a 20-point loss at Duke. Maryland is a well-coached team, but didn’t look it in Durham.
Shane Larkin, Miami: The sophomore point guard had a terrific week leading the Hurricanes to a pair of huge wins. He scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out five assists in a 27-point win over Duke and then totaled eight points, nine rebounds and six assists in a 71-47 rout of Florida State. Larkin also defended very well and led a group of mostly older players.
Jim Larranaga: Not only did his team clobber Duke by 27 points, but they followed that up with a 24-point rout of rival Florida State, making this one of the best weeks in the program’s history. But this wasn’t a flare up. Larranaga and his team are 100 percent legitimate.
